Chaser
by rlb190
Summary: During the Clone Wars, crime and mercenaries rose at the expensive of the Republic and Separatists. Running low on credits, the two crew members of The Chaser are in desperate need for a successful job. In order to do that, they're going to need a crew. And also people to hire them. But they'll figure that out later. SYOC, OPEN! Details inside.
1. The Tatooine Arc

"No."

Kellen sighed. "Stark." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"No. I refuse. I didn't sign up for this."

Kellen crossed his arms at Stark. "This is a simple mission!" Stark frowned distastefully.

"Let me get this straight. I don't do business with pirates."

"Getting the hostages are important, Stark. There's a war going on. The Republic will pay handsomely for their return." Kellen said, glaring at his stubborn friend. Well, more apprentice.

"I don't care. I don't like pirates." He said bluntly.

"Stark you said when you joined the crew you wanted to save as many lives as possible." Kellen argued.

In response to this, Stark stood up and walked towards the metal doors which slid open for him as they would any other crew member. Stark liked the ship. The _Chaser_ didn't discriminate, and worked the same for all of them, no matter the race or gender or age. Now that he thought about it, he was acting like a hypocrite.

Kellen owned the ship and was a crew member. Stark should be grateful for a job not under the Separatists.

Stark_ really_ hated the fact that he and Kellen were the only ones on the ship sometimes.

"Stark." Kellen said quietly, in a dangerous calm voice. His dark eyes sharply glanced at Stark, you didn't turn around. Stark left Kellen alone in the cockpit.

Kellen was in a predicament. There were only two of them on the crew. Stark had been the one to do the missions well Kellen waited to fly off. Kellen loved the stinker, but sometimes he could be so frustrating. The plan was simple, get the hostages off of Florrum, and get to Coruscant. The Republic would pay them for the return of the hostages.

Kellen sighed and looked at a transmitter. It was a special design on Stark's. It picked up both Republic and Separatist transmissions. That's how they had learned about the hostages. They were their own informants. Kellen didn't like relying on informants, he had gotten burned doing a job on Lothal and that was all it took.

Kellen looked at their current position. They were 100 klicks south of Tatooine. A pro, the planet acquired a bad reputation. It's considered a cesspool of the galaxy due to the large number of criminals who could be found there. A con, it's considered a cesspool of the galaxy due to the large number of criminals who could be found there.

Kellen gripped the controls and moved The _Chaser _northwards. He leant back and called out to Stark. "Stark! We're going to Tatooine to see if we can pick up a few mates interested in the job. Like it or not, we need the credits!"

There was a loud clang in response at Stark pounded on the wall the reply.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll find someone who can kick your butt all the way to Coruscant for us." Kellen laughed.

"Shut it old man!"

"I'm 32! You're 15! I'm not that old, you angsty teenager."

"Angsty isn't a word, Kellen."

"It is now!"

There was an audible sound of a slap. Stark had put his face in his hands. "Fine! I'll go with you!"

Kellen laughed to himself. It was a small victory.

**Hey guys! I'm back after my hiatus! I promise this story will finish, unlike the last one that stopped 'cause I went off. Anyways, the story goes that it's during the Clone Wars and the main plot follows a crew of mercenaries (and sometimes bounty hunters) as they deal with the moral and ethical issues of the war, as well as being pressured to pick a side. Now, I have enough crew members but I'm accepting guest characters. They have their own arcs in the story and will show up more then once, but they're not permanent crew, you see? They can be anything really. More details in the next chapter.**

**Requirements for Other Characters**

**These are the people who hire the crew, join the crew for one job, for the backstory of other characters, etc. Like if you want a clone to show up, a Jedi with the republic, another bounty hunter not part of the crew, etc. You can make them related to or affiliated with the canon characters on the show. This takes place around **_**season 2 **_**so keep that in mind!**

**Okay, the form on my profile and I hope to see you all soon!**

**Peace and Mist,**

**Rlb190**


	2. Hyperspace and Bar Fights

"This is a very bad idea." Stark muttered. Kellen had just landed The_ Chaser_ in Mos Eisley, and they were now walking towards the nearest bar. "Well, it's not exactly the center of the universe." Kellen shrugged.

"Well, if there's a bright center to the universe, we're on the planet that it's farthest from." Stark grumbled and crossed his arms. "Where are we going?" Kellen looked around. "Let's see. We're in Docking Bay 35, don't forget that."

"Right." Stark said. "The Star Chamber Bar." Kellen said. "The owners sold the place. They're going to build a hotel and casino there or something. This entire planet is still in development. Most locals are farmers."

"Aren't you supposed to stay with the ship?" Stark asked. Kellen laughed. "You're too young to go into a bar yourself. Besides, the ship is locked up tight. I called in a favor from a friend to watch it for us."

"You have friends?" Stark mocked surprise. Kellen lightly punched him. "Hey! Just relax and act natural, Stark. We're not doing anything illegal. Just finding people interested in joining a crew." Stark mumbled something Kellen didn't hear, and that was the end of their conversation. They walked up and down the streets until they found the bar.

It was underground, as most bars were on this dry, arid planet. When they stepped in, no one paid them any attention. Kellen shot Stark the 'go sit down' look. Stark nodded and went to a far corner table, moving out of the way. While covert was what they did, Stark figured he must look incredibly dumb.

Kellen walked up to counter where he got the attention of the bartender, a young human looking lady with curly red hair. Stark couldn't tell what they were they talking about, but Kellen knew a lot of people all across the galaxy. When he was young he did a lot of _free_ freelance, and now he had about a million favors he could cash in.

Stark found himself picking at the bandages on his left arm, and then at the burn scabs underneath. He winced, but he kept picking at it. It was more of a habit then purposeful. Their last job had been a nasty one, bringing a very rich client across the Outer rim. They were paid very well, but Stark had paid enough in blaster fire. Unlike Kellen, he wasn't left handed, which meant no guard to protect him from plasma fire on his left arm.

Kellen was now laughing with girl, a pleasant smile on his face. Her eyebrows were raised, head tilted, interested in the conversation. Stark kept scratching at the itchy wound as he kept an eye around the bar.

Suddenly, someone slid in the seat next to him. It was a Togruta, the first one Stark had ever seen so far out in the Outer Rim. Her skin was a light purple, and her eyes a glazed blue. "You shouldn't pick." She said, pointing to Stark's arm. Stark looked down at absent-mindedly at his arm. The formerly dull white was now bright red, and his fingernails had crimson underneath them.

"It's fine- um, who are you?' The Togruta pursed her lips together. "No it's not, let me see it. I'm a doctor." Without asking permission, she grabbed his arm. "Wait, what are you- who are you?!"

She had busied herself by opening a black bag and pulling out some things, and looked up at his protests. "I am a doctor. My name is Zarina Jix. My friends call me Zar. Let me see." Despite her appearance, she was much stronger then she looked, and Stark decided it was best not to make a scene.

She extended his arm, putting it down on a cloth she had placed over the table. She then unwrapped the bandages and clicked her tongue in disapproval. "It's infected."

"What?" Stark looked down and groaned mentally. She was right. The red, inflamed flesh was very much infected. He watched as she pulled a well-known salve for treating infections on Shili, the home world to Togrutas. She brushed it gently on the long burn, then wrapped it back up expertly and pinned the bandages into place. "Change them twice a day. Keep it clean." She instructed as she piled everything back into the black bag before swinging it over her shoulders.

"What do I owe you?" Stark asked, praying it wasn't too much. Kellen was right, they were low on credits. Zarina smiled, showing her sharp canine teeth. "Nothing. Consider it a favor." For the first time, Stark noticed what she was wearing. Her dark blue sleeveless shirt looked wrinkled and dirty, and het brown pants looks as though they had been cut quickly in an emergency, exposing her calves. She looked very tired, and had no shoes on. Even her montrails looked a little droopy.

"What's a doctor doing all the way out here?" Stark asked her. Zarina sighed a little. "Oh, it's quite a story. I was joined a nonprofit relief effort at the beginning of the war. I wanted to help everyone." She laughed, almost bitterly. "But the non-profit only helped the Republic sympathizers and people, instead of anyone who needed help. So I quit and hopped on the first transport and it landed me out here. I'm kind of stuck." She considered this for a moment. "Should have thought that through a little more."

_She's an airhead! _Stark thought quietly to himself. "Hey, you know, my friends and I are looking for some people interested in doing a job. We're heading to Florrum to get some people off the planet safely. Are you interested?" He offered, despite himself. She seemed nice, and what was the harm in bringing along a doctor? They didn't have a medical droid on the ship.

She regarded him carefully. "Are your friends also as young as you are?" she asked him. Stark actually laughed. "No. It's one person, and he's an old man." He nodded in Kellen's direction.

"He doesn't look that old." Zarina questioned. "He is, trust me. Don't mention his age because it bothers him. We have a ship and a plan. All we need are people to help. You'll get paid well."

Zarina played with the end of one of her head-tails (which the actual name of them Stark had forgotten). "Alright. Welcome me aboard."

Stark grinned. "Excellent." The duo turned their attention to back to bar, where Kellen was now talking to another girl. She looked human, with long blonde hair and grey eyes. She was nodding and tilting her head. Kellen looked pleasant. When he finished talking, the girl nodded and smiled. The bartender came back with a brown bag and gave it to the girl. The girl hopped over the bar and then gave the red-haired bartender a hug before leaving walking towards the table with Kellen. When they reached the table, Stark scooted over to make room, ending up between Zarina and Kellen.

"Who is this?" Kellen asked Stark. Stark looked at the blonde girl and then back at Kellen. "You first."

"Okay then. This is Maree. She's Lorrdian and agreed to join. She doesn't talk much." Maree did a little head/nod bow. "Welcome aboard." Stark said. He pointed to Zarina. "This is Zarina Jix. Her friends call her Zar. She's a doctor." Kellen extended his hand. "Well then, welcome aboard." Zarina took his hand and shook it. "A pleasure."

"All mine." Kellen smiled. "Okay, I think four people is enough-!" He pushed Stark's head down onto the table as a plasma beam flew directly where his head was. "Ow!" Stark exclaimed, sitting up and pressing on his forehead. Zarina had her kit out. "Let me see." Kellen was on his feet, as was most of the bar.

"What's your problem, asshole!?" Someone shouted. It came from a man holding a pistol, pointing it at a teenager, who was also tense, yet smiling. "Nothing, nothing." The kid said. "No need to fire a- oh, who am I kidding?" He whipped out two guns of his own and began to fire at the man, who fired back. There was a flash of blonde hair as the teenager ducked behind a counter.

That's when all hell broke loose. "Aw, dang it." Kellen exclaimed. "Maree!" The girl was on her feet as they both went their own ways into the divulging mob in the bar. Zarina shined a light into Stark's eyes. "What are you doing, we have to-,"

"No. Stay still." Zarina said firmly. Stark sighed. "Fine."

In the crowd, Maree slid over the counter top next to the boy, who smiled at her. "Hey."

She nodded, but gave him a glare.

"What can I say? He fired first."

Maree rolled her eyes.

"You remind of someone I used to know." The kid commented. "I'm Shane." Maree held up her bronze bracelet for Shane to read.

"Maree? Nice name. You don't talk much do you?"

Maree shook her head. Shane shrugged. "You seem nice. Any chance you have a ride out of here?"

A glass above them exploded in blaster fire. Maree turned around and stood up and pulled out her own pistol and fired it a few times before ducking down. She looked at Shane and nodded.

"Sweet. Can I get a ride?"

"If you're in it for the money."

The pair looked to the left, where the red-haired bartender was ducked., the cause of the voice.

"She's on a mercenary ship. You need a job you join the crew. You need a ride you pay them."

Shane cocked his head. "Huh, guess I'm on board then! I need some credits anyways. Cool deal. Get into a bar fight and walk out with a job. I'll stick with you then." He winked at Maree.

"About that, hotshot. I need payment for all of this." The bartender said. "I just sold this place, I need it good condition."

"I'll be sure to pay for it. Here." He handed her a few credits. "Consider that downpayment."

"How can I trust you?" the bartender said.

"What's your name?"

"Stara."

"Okay Stara, Maree trusts me right?" he looked at Maree, who sighed and nodded. "And you trust Maree?"

"Well, yeah. She's my sister."

"There! By default, you trust me. You have my word."

"Oh, fine. Just get of here, Maree! Take your insane friend with you."

Across the bar, Kellen ran into another man. Literally.

The impact had them both go down onto the floor. "Hey!" exclaimed the person who was tackled. "Sorry!" Kellen said. He kicked down a table as a shield from the flying plasma. The guy had pure white hair and very pale skin, almost grey. Kellen looked him up and down once.

"Any chance you need a job?"

"What?" the man asked, confused by Kellen's question. Kellen twirled his pistol in his hand. "We're looking for some people interested in joining a crew. We're heading to Florrum to get some hostages off the planet. We'll get paid very well and splitting it. Interested?"

"Now is not really the time for this, don't you think?"

"I have a ship that can get us off this planet before the authorities arrive. How old are you?"

"17."

"Perfect. You in?"

"Solaris Tem." The guy extended his hand.

"Kellen Dume." Kellen took it and shook his hand.

"My crew is in here somewhere. We're going to the rendezvous at Docking Bay 35. Meet us there if you can't keep up."

Solaris's eyes twinkled. "I can keep up."

"Excellent! Let's move!"

The duo stood up and ran towards the exit. "Duck!" Solaris yelled. Kellen did so as he threw what looked like a dagger into a man's shoulder, making him drop his gun. Kellen pulled it out of the man's shoulder and tossed it back to Solaris.

"That was cool." Kellen said.

"I pride myself on that." Solaris replied. They passed the table with Stark and Zarina. "Dock 35!" Kellen called. Stark and Zarina were on their feet and behind Kellen and Solaris. Maree and the kid who started the whole thing, Shane, came out of nowhere.

"Docking Bay 35!" Kellen called to them. They all emerged from the bar at the same time and separated. Maree and Shane got spilt up as soon as they left the bar, though. Shane went left and Maree went right.

Maree was now utterly lost.

_Great._

She wandered around a bit and moved out of the way as the police cars began their way down the dusty street. Even though she had moved here three months ago, she still had problems finding the streets.

She was so distracted trying to find the right street, she walked into somebody. Or maybe, something. She stretched her neck look up at the person, who was at least seven feet tall.

He looked like a wall of muscle. He was obviously Herglic, as he was absolutely huge. He looked alike a small whale, dark blue with a white belly. He smiled.

"Hello. Are you lost?"

Something about his body language and voice made her trust him almost at once. She nodded, still looking up at his massiveness.

"You didn't have anything to do with that bar fight, did you?" Maree shrugged. "Maybe." She was at once startled. It's not like she couldn't talk, she just didn't like to. The sound of her own voice shocked her. She hadn't heard it in quite a while.

"I'm Aldo. You need some help?" she nodded again. "Maree. I'm looking for Docking Bay 35. I just signed on a crew and we got separated."

He smiled widely, looking more scary then friendly due to his huge size. "Well, let's not get separated." He scooped her up with his massive arms and placed her on his large shoulder. He turned left down a large street. Maree would have gone right towards the smaller one, but his size did seem to be an issue.

"You're very tiny for your age. How old are you?" Aldo asked Maree, though she was about to ask him the same question.

"19. What about you, Aldo?"

"Oh, I'm an old man compared to you. I'm 38." Aldo replied. Maree smiled a little. "You're not that old, Aldo. To your credit, you like much younger." Aldo laughed. "That's nice of you, Maree." Maree smiled, and they fell into comfortable silence as Aldo trudged on. Maree figured it must incredibly strange, the two of them.

She couldn't help herself as she leant over a little bit to the right, looking down at the ground which seemed now very far away. She noticed a white tattoo, standing out on his dark blue skin. Great, now she had to ask.

"Um, Aldo?' she asked. He glanced over at her. "What's up?"

"What's that insignia on your arm?"

Aldo looked at the spot she was referring to on his right arm, as most people did when you mentioned something about them.

"Oh, that's new. It's the Republic insignia. You didn't recognize it?" Aldo asked her.

Maree shook her head, and then realized he couldn't see her that well so she spoke. "No. I've grown up here my whole life. It's a crime world. The only law that matters is Jabba's."

"Jabba?" Aldo asked almost in disbelief. "As in Jabba the Hutt?"

Aldo turned down another corner. They were now near the docks, but too far away from Docking Bay 35.

"Yeah. It comes with the job. My sister and I just sold our bar to a friend of theirs. Lady Ver- something. She's going to build something huge around it. My sister wanted enough money to get us off the planet. Maybe go to the Republic capital. It seems like the only safe place to avoid the war."

Aldo considered this for a minute. "If you're trying to avoid the war, why did you just sign on a crew?" he asked her curiously.

"Oh, well the guy who owns the ship is a family friend. He offered my older sister the spot first, but she had to take care of the details with the buyer. She suggested me and I signed on. We're short just a little bit. We need some savings to live while we both look for jobs. He offered to give us transportation once we have enough money. He's a nice guy."

"He sounds like it." Aldo commented, thinking about this family friend. It got quiet again, and then Maree finally spoke after a few minutes.

"Aldo, would you like come with us?"

"Hm?" Aldo said, having been distracted by the ships they were passing. They all seemed too small for him.

"We're going to be rescuing hostages from pirates in Florrum and returning them to the Republic. We could use the manpower. You'll get a split of the pay, of course." Maree offered.

"Really?" Aldo asked, almost in disbelief. A chance to do a job for the Republic. Maybe if they do a good job they could get contracted by them?

"Yeah. We're just about to leave now." Maree said.

The wheels were turning in Aldo's head. "Is your ship big enough to fit me?" he asked warily, his size having stopping him in past.

"Some parts are small, but I'm sure you'll be able to. It's certainly not a cruiser, though." Maree insisted.

Aldo thought about it for a little longer. He _had_ been looking for work.

"Okay." He agreed. "Yay!" Maree cheered. They were now closer to Docking Bay 35. They weren't too far away from the ship. If Maree squinted, she could make out two figures, a shorter boy and a taller man.

"That's them." Maree said, confirming it to Aldo. The sirens got louder and closer. "Someone must have died for the Republic police to show up here." Aldo commented, moving faster than he was before, turning it into a light jog.

"Maybe I guess- wait people die in bar fights all the time here. Why would the Republic show up here? Unless-." Maree was cut off by a huge galactic cruiser flew above them. She bent over Aldo a little bit, getting a good look at his face from her perch.

"The Separatists were involved. When there's a cruiser, there's a Jedi. We should probably pick up the pace." Aldo was now moving much faster than before.

"It's the Republic, so it's fine right?" he asked.

"Um, no. They'll hold everyone here until they get what they want. We all really need to get out of here before more hostages are killed." Maree said. "I speak from experience. One time a Jedi was killed out here. We were stuck for weeks."

"Okay, moving faster." They were now very close. Kellen, the taller man, waved his hand at Maree and then ran back into the ship. It started to power up. The shorter guy, Stark, waited by the opening for them. Aldo and Maree finally reached the ship!

Aldo gently placed Maree off his shoulder. Maree glanced from Stark, who was looking up, and Aldo, looking down.

"I'm Stark." Stark said, a bit overwhelmed bu Aldo's size.

"Aldo. Your friend invited me to join you guys. That okay?"

"Um, yeah. That's fine." Stark said a little quietly. "Welcome aboard." He had a huge purple and blue mark in the middle of his forehead. Maree walked aboard the ship and Aldo and finally Stark went after her. They traveled down the narrow path until they reached the large 'command center' as Kellen called it, but it was more a big room with couches and a transmitter in the center.

Aldo counted the people sitting and standing in various places. If he counted the pilot, Stark, Maree, and himself, it was a grand total of seven, a large number that was sure to rise later.

There was a collective gasp and the ship jerked into the air.

"Sorry!" Someone called from the cockpit. "There's a large amount of ships leaving at the same time. Stark, set hyperspace coordinates!" Stark, Aldo presumed, dashed out the room into the cockpit. Maree, who seemed familiar with the ship, also joined him.

Stark suddenly popped his head in. "We have four seats up here, so we have an extra when we jump. Um, Aldo, big guy, you won't fit."

"That's alright." Aldo said.

"I'll go." said a pale kid with white hair. He walked past Stark, who then looked at the three remaining passengers, Aldo the whale guy, Zarina, and Shane.

"Um, find something to strap into. There's seat belts on the couch for you two." He pointed to Zarina and Shane, who were both already seated on the couch.

"Aldo, uh, just hold onto something I guess. I'll make you an attachment later but we don't really have time for-,"

"_Star_k!"

"Coming!" he shouted back, turning his head. He faced the trio. "Um, sorry. I'm just gonna go now." He turned and disappeared behind a door of what Aldo assumed was the cockpit.

The one female left behind, once she had put the black strap over her lap and secured it, looked up at the two males and smiled, showing off some very sharp teeth.

"I'm Zarina. It's a pleasure to be working with you both."

The teenager with the messy blonde hair was fiddling with his black strap. "Same here." He said, without looking up. "I'm Shane. And uh, yeah. That bar fight was kind of my fault. It was accident though. I was just- oh."

There was a large snapping noise, like something metal breaking.

"Uh-oh."

Aldo looked over at Shane's belt. "Did you just?" he asked.

"It was already like that." Shane said quietly.

"What was that!?" came a voice from the cockpit. It was Stark.

"_Nothing!_" All three in back called to the cockpit.

"We're jumping to hyperspace in five! Four! Three! Two!" Stark yelled.

Aldo sighed, then grabbed Shane and lifted his hand up, easily touching the ceiling and grabbing onto a pipe that looked like it distributed water throughout the ship. Very important, and it would be bad if it was broken.

"One!"

The entire ship was jolted suddenly, and the straps strained on everyone not facing the front of the ship, that being Zarina. Aldo and Shane were also thrown back, but Aldo managed to hold onto the pipe hard enough not to go flying and light enough not to break it.

Suddenly it stopped, and Zarina, Aldo, and Shane were all thrown backwards. It got really quiet, and the three breathed a sigh of relief.

Stark emerged from the cockpit and held onto the frame for support. He looked a little sick. "Everyone okay?"

Aldo let go of Shane, who straightened up and brushed off his shirt professionally and with ease. "Was there ever any doubt?'

"_Yes_."

"Hey!" Shane protested. Zarina laughed and undid the strap. "You might need more than one strap for next time, though."

"What do you mean?" Stark asked warily. Zarina was cut off by Kellen walking into the room

"Well then. We're going to reach Florrum soon. We're still in hyperspace but it shouldn't be too long. Welcome aboard the _Chaser_. I do hope you enjoyed the ride."

"Let's just say it was a little bumpy for my taste." Shane muttered.

The pale kid with the white hair walked in, making their number six. "So, what's the plan?" he asked, to no one in particular.

Kellen crossed his arms. "We should start with introductions. I'll trade places with Maree so she can sit in. Stark will debrief you and I'll make sure we don't crash."

"Sounds good." Shane said, nodding in approval. Kellen walked back into the cockpit and only a few moments later Maree came out and sat down on the rounded couch that surrounded the transmitter.

Stark went to the front part of the transmitter, which looked into the open room and turned it on, providing a virtual, 3D map of Florrum.

"Let's all take a seat I suppose. I'm Stark." He offered. Zarina spoke next. "Zarina." She raised her land, like it was classroom.

"Solaris." said the pale kid with the white hair. "Shane." Shane winked at Maree, who rolled her eyes. "That's Maree. She doesn't talk much."

Aldo looked over at Maree in surprise, considering the conversation they had on the way to the docking bay. "Um, Aldo." He stuttered out, a little distracted by trying to figure out why Maree would talk to him and not anyone else on the ship.

"And Kellen is preventing us from dying right now." Stark concluded. "Let's get started then." Stark pointed to a part near the north of the 3D planet. "The hostages are being held here, by Hondo Ohnaka, a Weequay pirate and captain of the Ohnaka Gang. The planet is well known for a dry climate. Unfortunately for us, the surface of the planet is a mixture of deserts, canyons and areas with many sulfuric geysers. Sulfuric as in the deadly kind."

"Then how do we avoid the geysers?" Shane asked.

"Skalders. They're native to the planet and have thick hides that protect them from the acid coming out of the geysers. We can ride near them and where they move, we move." '

"Ohnaka's pirates flourish. They use the war and lack of Republic intervention to deal by spice. They want almost a million credits worth of it for three hostages. They make money by receiving ransoms through kidnapping and extortion." Stark said.

"Our best bet would to get in and out, as quickly as possible, then." Aldo commented from behind Stark, who nodded. "Exactly. There are seven of us to do this job. Kellen and I are going to stay on the ship. Kellen will be our getaway and I'll managed communications from here. I'll also intercept any transmissions to prevent your discovery."

"You're not coming with us?" Zarina asked in disbelief.

"Uh, no. I don't exactly like pirates. These specific ones, well, uh, we don't exactly have the best past. They have orders to kill me on sight." Stark said awkwardly, rubbing his shoulder and looking almost embarrassed.

"Okay then." Zarina nodded and crossed her legs, her bare feet still pointing downwards towards the floor.

"We'll split into two groups. We have five people, so it's going to be two and three. Two people will be our distraction and the other three will rescue the hostages." Stark said. He pushed another button on the machine and it zoomed in, displaying a large 3D model of the pirate base. Stark pointed towards the front of the base, where speed cycles and pirates were, frozen in time from the picture being taken.

"It's a hub for fights and drinking. We'll need people who don't get into fights easily. Shane, it rules you out. No offense."

"None taken." Shane shrugged. "I like being on recon anyways."

"I could go?' Zarina offered. Stark shook his head. "We need you to be on scene. Knowing these pirates they're bound be hurt. You're the only doctor here on the crew and we need your efforts directed towards the hostages. I think Solaris should be on recon too."

Solaris, who hadn't said a word in quite a while, raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You've developed quite a reputation for yourself. You'll be fine." Solaris gruffly nodded. "Fine." Aldo looked at Maree and then back at Stark. "That leaves me and Maree."

Stark nodded. "Yes. You too seemed to get along pretty well back there. You could be her body guard or something. That means she'll need to get a little dressed up- wait no. You'll be asking for a bounty hunter to track down the man who killed your very rich father. Your brother is being held captive and you have a lot of money, but only if they find the killer. Aldo will be your personal bodyguard." He looked at Maree who nodded.

Aldo frowned. "That makes sense I suppose. We just keep them distracted until you guys are out of there?"

"The three of them will signal me when they're safe. You guys finish the deal quickly and get out of there. We'll take off and Kellen will contact the Republic that we have the hostages. Just don't get caught, or we're all in for a world of trouble." Maree and Aldo both nodded.

"Shane and Solaris, you guys need to protect Zarina as best you can so she can get to the hostages. I don't doubt your abilities, Zarina." He stopped Zarina from saying something about how she didn't need protection. She reluctantly closed her mouth and pouted a little.

"It's just very important you remain unharmed so we can help these people. Are we all clear?" Stark asked. The group of five nodded. Suddenly, the door between the cockpit and living area opened. Kellen stuck his head in.

"Strap in, everyone. We're above to exit hyperspace."

**Okay! Good chapter, Rachel. *high fives self* If your crew character didn't show up (I know who you are) don't worry. This is just for this job, and in the next chapter or two they'll show up. I think five per chapter is my limit. So what did you think? You like the way I wrote the characters? Hate it?**

**I'm still accepting guest characters, but not crew. Guest can join the crew for a job or fire them. They don't have the rules, and they can be Jedi, force sensitive and active members of the Republic Senate. If you've submitted a crew member, feel free to send in a guest as well, since I'm so short on them.**

**Questions I like my reviewers to answer:**

_**What do you think will happen once they reach Florrum?**_

_**Why to the pirates hate Stark?**_

_**Will Maree ever talk to anyone besides Aldo?**_

_**Why is Shane so adorable? *smushes his face***_

_**Will Solaris ever get a proper speaking part? (We'll see!)**_

**Forgive my grammar in this. I'm short on time and I want to get it out before my laptop dies. I don't have spellcheck on this thing. I'll fix it later, but just ignore the bad parts, kay? **

**Tell me what you guys think, and I'll see you in the next chapter. I might not update soon, since it's going to be New Years. If I don't see you guys, have a good one! **

**Peace and Mist,**

**Rlb190**


	3. Escape (Part 1)

Maree and Aldo emerged from the ship looking much different they did when they had entered it.

Maree, under Stark's advice, had changed out of her white pants and tan top into a dress. It wasn't just any dress, though. It was elaborate; the hem kissed the floor, trailing in the dust as she walked. She had seemed a little unsteady in her heels on the ship, so Stark suggested she take them off, much to her glee.

Aldo really couldn't get over the fact that the tiny 19 year old had somehow transformed herself into someone of noble blood. Her dress was made of satin, with royal blue half-cape, clasped at the right shoulder with(what looked like a real diamonds) stars and draped over her right shoulder.

The other side was decorated with blue feathers lined with pearls at the shoulder. The escutcheon at her waist was made out of bronze and pearls, shining off in the bright light of the planet's sun. Connected the outfit together was the actual dress, a long sleeved aquamarine frock of silk; with the help of the escutcheon it hugged her figure. Her feet were bare and dirty, as Zarina had suggested.

Zarina had also helpfully braided her waist length hair in some kind of elaborate style. After it was secured with a tie, Kellen produced a diamond hair clip which was then attached and clipped to the side of her head, secured to her hair.

Aldo had also gone through changes, though not as dramatic as Maree. In addition to his sleeveless black jumpsuit, he had on hard blue armor that looked as though it had quite a run in the past. He also hefted a large axe, over his shoulder. It was at least six feet long, blade gave it additional height. It was sharp and deadly. Aldo has almost cut off his finger when Stark had dragged it out into the living area. Looking at Maree reminded Aldo of the conversation he had with Stark before they had left.

"_Where did you get all of this?" _

_Stark had been polishing the blade on the axe, using an oil cloth to shine it up so it would glare bright in the sun._

"_The weapons were collected over time. Mostly as payment for jobs, and mostly gifted to Kellen." He had replied briskly, with the professionalism of an experienced mercenary._

"_What about the dress? It looks like the real deal. It was the only the two of you on the ship right? Why a dress?"_

_Stark didn't look up from the axe. "It's real. It was my mother's."_

"_Oh." Aldo said. It got really quiet for a moment, but Aldo couldn't stand it. His curiosity was burning inside of him._

"_What happened to her?" he asked bluntly, and then regretted it at once. Stark could sense Aldo's regret and looked up and smiled._

"_It's alright Aldo. I don't mind talking about it. She was murdered."_

"_By who?"_

_Stark shook his head sadly. "It was-"_

"Aldo?" Maree asked, pulling him from her

"Hmm?" Aldo replied. His blinked, his eyes adjusting to the bright light. He changed his hand position around his axe and looked down at his little friend.

"Did you hear any of what I just said?"

"Uh, no." Aldo admitted shamefully.

"Good."

"Wait, what?" Mare blinked and put a hand over her eyes so she could look up at Aldo clearly.

"Just forget about it. It was stupid."

Aldo stopped walking. "Hold on. You can't just say 'oh didn't hear me never mind then.' It doesn't work like that!"

Maree laughed, her grey eyes sparkling very prettily in the light. She ushered him forwards towards the base. "Just forget it. I made a bad joke, that's all. Anyways, for the important stuff. Do you have your coms?" Aldo tapped his wrist, where the device was secured. Stark had claimed he had based it off what the Jedi used, but Aldo wasn't too sure.

"What's going to happen when they get the hostages?"

"It'll vibrate." Aldo replied quickly.

"Oh. Right." Maree had forgotten most of the plan. She wiped her sweaty palms on her dress, and the thigh holster for her pistol brushed up against her hand.

"T-then we leave right? Do we run?" she asked, unsure.

"No. We say we don't have a picture of the guy. Or maybe something like that. Or their price is too expensive and we'll come back later with the down payment. We need to make a huge scene, so they'll be distracted with us will the three of them go and get the hostages. They'll be on board first so they'll call us when they're safe, and we'll be home free." Aldo said, and then raised an eyebrow.

"Are you nervous? You seem nervous."

Maree laughed breathlessly. "Me? Nervous? Never." She twiddled her thumbs as the neared the entrance.

"You'll be fine. Act natural." He smiled to her. They were finally all the way up to the entrance. Maree looked around.

"That's strange. Isn't there supposed to be people out here?"

Aldo looked around as well. "You're right. Where is everyone? The map said-,"

"Sh! Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shhhh!" Maree waved her, shushing Aldo. "Listen."

At first Aldo couldn't hear it, then he closed his eyes and he finally did. It was faint cheering. Over and over again, repeated and harsh.

"_Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"_

"That's not just me, right?" Maree asked. Aldo shook his head. "No." He looked own at Maree.

"Looks like we found our distraction."

* * *

><p>"You guys are good to go." Kellen called from the cockpit. Shane stood up and stretched. "Finally! Let's go rescue some hostages."<p>

From across the room, Zarina also stood up. She grabbed her black fabric bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm ready."

"As am I." Solaris said. Stark looked up from his data pad. "Coms are up. You guys need to go around back. Don't forget to avoid geysers."

"Right, right." Shane waved his hand. "Let's go this show on the road!" He hopped eagerly off the ship, followed by almost and equally gleeful.

Stark sighed and looked at Solaris. "Make sure they don't kill themselves." Solaris cracked a smile. "Will do."

He departed the ship and Stark sat down heavily on the couch.

Kellen walked in from the cockpit. "Some group, huh?" Stark laughed. "We pick good friends, old man."

"I'm _32_, Stark. 32. Don't forget that."

"Whatever." Stark grinned. Kellen laughed and crossed his arms, leaning on the doorframe. "Maree seems happy and nervous. It's been awhile since she's been on my ship."

"You did a job with her?" Stark asked curiously.

"For her sister. The bartender. Maree had gotten herself into a messy situation and her sister asked me to get her back. It was quite the job. I almost died. Twice. Maree has a scar on the back of her leg from it."

"From what? Plasma fire?"

"Um, no. I dropped her." Kellen admitted. Stark burst out laughing. "You- ha! You- I can't breathe!" he was laughing so hard he was clutching his side. "You… dropped... her! So much for a rescue!"

"She was unconscious at the time. Don't tell her it was. I said it was plasma fire." Kellen warned. Stark nodded, still grinning and wiping away tears.

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Okay. What happened after that?"

Kellen sighed and frowned, depleting the mood. "Well she didn't wake up for the entire ride. When I brought her back, she was in a coma for three days. When she woke up, she didn't remember most of what had happened. Stara and I figured it was for the best. Sometimes when you don't remember something it's because your mind doesn't want you to." He said gravely.

Stark drew in a sharp breath. "What happened?"

Kellen got a very grave look on his face. "Stark, I'm telling you this because I trust you. I don't want you to tell another soul, you hear me? I've known you since you were little, so don't displace my trust in you now."

Stark nodded, taking in the seriousness in Kellen's voice. "Of course."

"Maree is force –sensitive. In fact, The Force is very strong with her. Stronger than a normal person's.

Stark knew exactly what this meant. "They came for her, didn't they?" Kellen nodded, confirming what Stark was saying.

"A Jedi master named Obi-Wan Kanobi. When she was a little girl. Her parents pleaded for a little more time. He gave her that bracelet of hers. It's supposed to help in blocking The Force or something like that."

"How is that possible?"

Kellen shook his head. "I don't know. The war then started, and Maree was left alone with her sister and parents. The one day they were accepting a delivery, Maree and her parents. Maree must have been 16 or so. Her sister is ten years older than her. It was from the trade guild that has Sith lords on their side. Her bracelet was knocked off. There had been almost 11 years of it building up and it just sort of exploded."

"No." Stark muttered.

"Yes. Her parents were killed, so were a lot of the people there. The Republic said it was a terrorist attack. It was very dangerous for Maree to be there in the first place. There was a Jedi skilled in the dark side there. He took her to become his apprentice. Her sister hired me to investigate after the Republic wouldn't tell her what happened."

"What did you do?"

Kellen shrugged. "Went to the last place she was seen. Looked around, asked a few people questions, credits passed hands and I found where she was. So I went in after her, got her out and returned her to her sister. The war was both a blessing and a curse."

"So… Maree should be a Jedi right now?"

"Padawan, actually. She'd probably be dead if she fought on either side of the war She's too gentle for such things like war. That's why her sister sold their bar. They need this job to finally disappear for good."

Stark was stunned. He had heard of people trying to keep their force-sensitive children from becoming Jedi, but most ended up caving in and sending their kids. They didn't want them to go dark side. The few that were left alone were like time bombs. It was only a matter of time before they succumbed to the dark.

"That's... intense." Kellen nodded. "Exactly. So don't tell anybody, okay? The Jedi are short on numbers right now."

Stark bit his finger nail. It seemed that this confession from Kellen put everything into a new perspective.

Suddenly, the coms unit turned on.

"_Stark!"_ It was Shane.

"**What's wron**g?" Stark jumped up, data pad in hand. Kellen straightened, poised and tensed.

"_Um, how do I put this? We have a problem."_

"**What happened?"**

There was a large crashing noise and an animal growled.

"**What was that?!"**

"_Nothing! Nothing! Um, it's just that they were having a cage fight and Maree and Aldo were distracting them well and we snuck in and there' s no guards, but the cage with the hostages is surrounded by plasma bars. Also a tiger has bitten Solaris and won't let go."_

"_**What!?"**_

"_Uh, Zarina is trying to get the tiger to let go of his arm. It's really funny because he's really docile so he's just play-biting but he won't let go! It's really funny; I wish I had a camera to-,"_

"**Focus."**

"_Right. Okay, so we're working on that, but how do we get past the cage? It's all plasma. We can't get to them unless we blow up the wall next to it. One of the hostages doesn't look good- __**Oi! Are you okay in there?"**_

Shane yelled this to another person, and there was muffled reply back.

"_Yeah, so he's not okay. And we don't have much time. Aldo and Maree are running out of time. Can you do some hack-y stuff to get us in without setting off any alarms?"_

"**I'll see what I can do. Kellen has the ship ready for you guys, so get the hostages as soon as possible. Uh, don't bring that tiger."**

"_Okay. __**Solaris- wait! Don't kill the- awh. **__He killed the tiger."_

"**Did it let go?"**

"_Well, yeah. He's dead."_

"**Hold on. I'll try to get you guys in."**

"_Kay!"_

Stark sighed. "Kellen I hope you're ready for a quick escape." Kellen nodded and went back into the cockpit. Stark felt the engines kick on as he opened a new page on his data pad. He clicked the coms button on it.

"**Where are you guys?"**

"_Uh, Block C? Cell A"_

"**Okay."**

Stark pulled the plan he had used earlier for the 3D model, and looked for Block C. When he found it, he went through the base's security systems. It was considerably easy, considering Stark was the one who had set up it.

Once he had quietly destroyed the firewall, he logged onto one of their computers. It would be bad if someone was using it, because he had just taken control over it. Anyone looking would be able to see what he was doing. He prayed silently as he undid the security bars on the cell.

"_Whatever you just did worked! We'll be there in five."_

"**You don't have much time. We need to get Maree and Aldo out of there too."**

"_We're already out the door."_

"**See you soon."**

Stark stopped pressing the button and exited the security system. The ship rumbled and Stark felt his heart beating heavily. They were going to do it! They were actually going to do it!

Suddenly, someone popped up into the ship. He had crazy blonde and an even crazier grin on his face. He was carrying what looked like a corpse on his back in army gear. Shane.

"We're okay!"

Shane boarded the ship, still carrying a guy over his back. Stark gave him a look.

"He's alive! Where is somewhere we can put him?"

"Hold on." Shane pressed a button on his data pad that would signal Maree and Aldo. Zarina boarded the ship afterwards, lugging Solaris. Finally the last hostage with his friend leaning on him entered.

"Follow me." Stark jogged back into the ship, where the small 'infirmary' was. Zarina and Shane, along with the military guy followed behind him. There were only two cots, with black straps on the side, used for securing people for hyperspace, and to make sure they didn't hurt themselves.

Zarina placed Solaris gently down in a chair before turning and helping the limping military guy get off his friend. Stark noticed two of them, the one carried in by Shane and the other that was helping the limping friend, looked like copies of each other. They were clones.

"Shane, go keep a look out for Maree and Aldo!"

Zarina had already gone to work on the one that was carried in by Shane.

"Sir? Sir?" She asked him. She pulled a light out of her pants pocket and shined it in his eyes, opening them with her fingertips. "Can you hear me?" She turned her head to Stark and Shane.

"Bandage Solaris and the Admiral for me?" She nodded at the guy in military clothes.

"Yeah." Stark said. Zarina tossed him and Shane bandages, and then turned her attention to the man on the cot.

Zarina knew that he had been seriously injured, and if it was internal she'd need to operate. But on a non-sterile ship? It could be deadly.

"Hello? Sir? Can you hear me?" There was low groan and he opened his eyes. He was looking around lazily. He couldn't focus on Zarina properly.

"Hello? My name is Zarina. I'm a doctor; I'm here to help you. Can you tell me your name?"

"Mmph, Tens." He muttered out. His eyes started to close.

"Hello? Tens, stay with me." Zarina lightly jolted him. "You're alive. That's all we need right now. You're alive."

He opened his eyes and breathed deeply, wincing.

"Can you tell me what hurts?" She asked him, a tone of urgency to her voice.

"Can't…breathe."

"Okay. Thank you Tens." He closed his eyes briefly.

"Tens? Stay with me, please." She pulled out a stethoscope from her bag and put the two nubs close to her face and put the end on his chest. She listened closely for a minute, and then cursed.

"What's wrong?" Stark asked from across the room.

"He has a collapsed lung!" Zarina rummaged through her bag, looking for something, she pulled out a pair of gloves.

"What?!" Shane asked.

"I need to re-inflate it. It's is typically caused by a blockage of the airways or pressure on the outside of the lungs or a puncture. There are tons of possibilities. He must have fallen hard or-!" she had lifted up his shirt, revealing blue bruised marks.

"-was beaten very badly. Blunt force. Okay."

"What do you need?" Shane asked. He had finished bandaging Solaris, who was wincing and rubbing the newly bandaged wound.

"Using my better judgment I'd say it's a large puncture. For large punctures that require continuous excess air removal, which this one does, I need to insert a chest tube _or he is going to die_."

"Do you have one?"

"I'm a traveling doctor, of course I have one! It's not sterile, though. It's been in my pack this whole time. I'm short on supplies so I have to clean up supplies once I'm done using them." She pulled out a packaged needle and started to unwrap it.

"I spend my credits on these things."

"What're we going to do?" Shane asked.

"I need some hot water or antiseptic."

"The ship has a kitchen! I'll go boil some! Shane stood up and dashed towards the door.

"Hurry!"

Stark took two pieces of plastic from the nearby counter of limited medical supplies and made a make-shift splint for the Admirals' leg. He wrapped it tightly up to the best of his ability while Zarina tried to keep Tens awake.

She pulled out a hollow tube is attached to some kind of suction device. "Tens? I'm going to insert a chest tube into your right lung. It's collapsed. I don't want to give you any anesthetic so you will stay awake, okay? This is going to hurt a bit."

He only muttered something inaudible in return. It seemed like a long few minutes until Shane came back holding a pot of boiling water.

"Here!"

Zarina tossed the tube in quickly, and then removed that man's shoes.

"Why did you do that?" Shane asked her.  
>"Don't ask." Zarina muttered, pulling on the gloves she had retrieved from her bag. She took the tiny needle she had unwrapped, dipped it into the hot water, and leant over Tens. "Dry off the chest tube." She instructed Shane, who did as she asked, then turned her full attention to Tens.<p>

"Ready?"

He could barely nod.

"Okay. Three! Two!" She jabbed the needle into his side before one. Tens groaned and there was a _whooshing _noise. She took the needle She handed out her hand for the chest tube and Shane handed it to her. She used a tiny scalpel to cut a slit big enough. She then took the chest tube and slid it into his lung. She connected the tube to the suction thing she had and turned it on.

It was very quiet for a moment, then a sudden _whoosh_ of air moving in and out of his lung. Zarina sighed in relief. "Okay. It'll remove air for a few hours until we get you some help. I can give you the pain medicine now."

She then took a new needle filled with some kind of medicine and injected it into the poor mans' arm. It must have worked quickly, because he relaxed almost at once.

Zarina collapsed onto the chair next to Solaris, took a deep breath, and then face him.

"Let me see." He offered her his arm where red was already seeping through the bandages. She unwrapped it, revealing the bleeding flesh.

"You're going to need stitches. I don't think it broke the bone. I can do them now." Solaris nodded, grimacing.

Zarina leant over her bag she had dragged with her and pulled out another needle and gloves. She changed her gloves and unwrapped the needle. She then lent in very close next to Solaris and pinched the skin near the bite tightly, and injected him.

Solaris felt his arm tingle, and then slowly go numb.

"Thanks." He said, nodding. Stark turned his attention to Solaris. "How _exactly_ did you get bitten by a tiger?"

"There was a tiger. It didn't like me." He winced reflexively as Zarina put her needle for the stiches into his arm, but he relaxed as she got to work.

"What is a tiger doing on Florrum?" Stark asked, narrowing his eyes.

"It was my fault." Shane said suddenly. Stark turned around to face Shane. "What happened?"

"Well-,"

The door slid open, revealing Aldo. "We're leaving the atmosphere , strap in for hyperspace!"

Zarina waved her hand towards Shane. "Secure the Admiral and Tens. Use the straps. The chest tube should hold."

Zarina quickly finished with Solaris and tied and snipped the string. "Ten stiches. Ironic, no?" she smiled and laughed at her own joke while Solaris rolled his eyes. She used some new bandages and wrapped up him quickly before pinning it into place.

"Go to the cockpit, strap in." she ordered, Solaris dashed out quickly for someone who had just gotten bit by a tiger.

She got up and leant over Tens, who Shane hadn't gotten to yet, and pulled the black straps across his body, not putting the one that would go over his chest.

Shane had pulled a black strap across the Admiral's lap like a seat belt, as he refused to lay down.

"Go strap in!" Zarina ordered Stark and Shane, pointing towards the door. They both left. And she grabbed the counter next to Tens bed.

"You should go strap in, young lady." The Admiral said, nodding at Zarina, who smiled and shrugged. "I can't leave my patients. I'll be fine."

The ship jolted and Zarina could tell they had entered space.

"Hyperspace in ten!" Kellen called over the intercom, which he apparently didn't decide to use until now.

"If you pardon my asking, Admiral, how did you can crew get caught in this?"

He winked at her. "I could ask you the same thing. You did good saving the commander."

She glanced at Tens. "He's a commander? He doesn't look like it."

'You don't look like a doctor."

"True." She smiled.

There was the loud sound of gunfire for a moment and they were launched into hyperspace.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's short! I want to give you guys another chapter before the New Year. I have like twenty minutes so it's just in time.<strong>

**Don't worry about the parts I skipped. Those will be reveal next chapter *winks***

**Question time!**

**Why was Solaris getting bitten by a tiger Shane's fault?**

**What do you think of Maree's backstory? What's the story behind her bracelet?**

**Does Stark seem like a prick? (He does to me)**

**Will Tens survive the trip to the Galactic Republic?**

**What happened during the rescue and what happened with Aldo and Maree?**

**Normally I'd reply to reviews here but I've got to go. Peace out, have a great new year! Eat your 12 grapes and where all the white you can! :D**

**Peace and Mist,**

**Rlb190**


	4. Escape (Part2)

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. My classes have started up again, and let us just say Lit. Crit. is going to kill me. If I don't update next week you'll find my hermit self in the library.**

The ride to Courscant was a long one from Florrum, even in hyperspace. Kellen had made the executive choice to take Tens, the Admiral, and Longshot (as he later introduced himself) to the Republic first before going back to Tatooine, picking up Maree's sister and dropping the two of them off at Courscant.

One trip to Courscant wouldn't have taken that long, but with Tens condition Zarina didn't want to risk waiting any longer than they had too.

With the ship smoothly gliding through hyperspace, five out of the seven people who had signed on for the job were gathered in the cockpit, along with Longshot, the clone who wasn't injured.

Zarina hadn't left the little 'infirmary', she was probably taking care of Tens and the Admiral, and Aldo was simply too big to fit with six people in the cockpit. The lack of chairs left Stark and Longshot standing, both neither seemed to mind.

Maree had changed out of the blue dress she had almost destroyed, and was now back in her white pants and tan top, though Stark had noticed she kept the elaborate braided style and had replaced the diamond clip with a cheap black one.

Now, the blue thing was resting on her lap, the hem caked with layers of dirt. She tried to scrape the stubborn mud off with her nails, but it barely had any effect on the poor dress.

Sighing, she felt her attention go back to Stark, who had just finished debriefing the crew on their arrival to Courscant. She figured she would just stick to Aldo and it would be fine.

"We all got that?" Stark was saying. Mare nodded, joining the mumbles and other head movements of the crew.

Stark raised a hand and ran it through his hair, not really messing it up as much as it should have. Maree then noticed that his hair was already messed up from Stark doing that, she had just never seen it any other way then hand-run-through-it style.

"Now can someone explain to me _exactly_ what happened back there? " Stark ask, more exhaustedly then angry.

Shane was the first to respond.

"It was a pretty normal job at first, like any other." Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Zarina. Everyone turned to her. "They'll be okay." There was a unified sigh of the crew. Longshot looked especially relieved. "I just came to check in." Zarina added.

"Then why don't you start with the story of what happened?" Shane suggested. Zarina nodded. "Okay, sure. I'll start where Shane did. It was a pretty normal job at first…"

* * *

><p><em>Earlier...<em>

After Shane and Zarina recklessly left the ship, Solaris had to light job to catch up to them. The building was long and wide. Running didn't make any sense to Solaris; it would just waste needed energy.

Zarina and Shane soon realized this as they slowed their pace to a walk when Solaris caught up with them.

"So, what's the plan?" Shane asked, to no one in particular.

"We don't have a plan?" Zarina asked.

"We have a plan. We get in, get the hostages, and get out."

Shane snorted through his nose. "Good plan." He found his eyes drifting to Zarina's belt of her shredded brown pants. There was some kind long blade in a tan red holster. It was big enough to be worn on someone's back, but it was obvious with her black bag it wasn't going to be possible. Zarina caught him looked and smiled at Shane, then patted the blade.

"It's Torgruta blade. My father gave it to me. My people aren't too fond of blades but ever since the war started it seems they're becoming more and more common. What kind of weapons do to yield?"

Shane grinned. "I have a self-modified DC-17 hand-blaster. I modified them to increase the power output. It doesn't compare to a heavy blaster though."

Solaris could tell he was lying about something, but he decided to let it go. It would make things much more interesting.

It got extremely quiet after that, except for the sounds coming from the base. Even from all the way outside the base, the tri could hear the cheers and shouts of the pirates.

"I wonder what're they're doing." Shane asked.

Zarina scrunched up her face. "Probably fighting. I hope they have a good doctor."

"With these guys I'm sure there's no such thing as injured. Just alive and dead."

Zarina made almost an alarmed fast and Shane put an arm on Zarina's shoulder. "Kidding. I'm sure they have a great doctor."

Solaris could also tell Shane was lying, but for the sake of ending the conversation he said nothing.

It was only a matter of time before they reach the back entrance, unguarded and clearly barely used. It faced the backlands of the plant, blobs of yellow could be seen running around. The animals, Solaris assumed.

However, a problem emerged in the non-existent plan when they were greeted with a door the was blaster sealed.

Shane swore quietly and leaned in to investigate the red ray blocking the outside from the inside.

"Great. This wasn't part of the plan." Zarina said.

"There was no plan." Shane sighed.

Solaris inspected the area. Something caught his eye. He pointed upwards at the wall. It was an air vent, extremely tiny, but it looked unsecured. They probably assumed no one would be able to fit.

"We can use that." Solaris said. Zarina squinted at it. "That's too small. Who can fit in there?"

Shane and Solaris glanced at one another and then at Zarina. Who tilted her head, then widened her eyes at it hit her.

"Whoah, what!?"

"You're the shortest one, and skinniest." Shane said.

"Are you kidding? I'm a 140 pound five foot ten _Togruta_!"

Shane nodded and grinned. " Exactly! Solaris is like an inch taller than you and I'm 6 foot 2. You're tiniest_. _Besides, your people are used to adapting, right? Just climb through the vent, get out at the first turn and let us in. Simple as that. I'll hold your bag and blade."

Zarina looked a little panicked. "What if I get stuck? What if it has scanners that detect lifeforms?"

"You'll be fine. Here, I'll give you a boost." Shane got down on a knee and put his hands on it.

"Fine." Zarina muttered. "I'd better get paid extra for this." She added under her breath. She dropped her bag and blade gently on the ground and walked over to Shane.

She lifted one foot and put it on Shane's hands, resting on his knee, then the other one. Shane grunted, but didn't cripple under her weight. She used her slender fingers and wrapped them around the vent cover and yanked as hard as she could. The metal groaned, but then popped off. Zarina dropped it on the ground next to her.

"Don't forget to put that back." She warned them.

"Right! Just go!" Shane said. He lifted his hands, trying to get into a standing pose to lift Zarina up properly. She got in halfway before Shane could stand up. Using her arms she pulled herself forwards, kicking her legs to give her the momentum to get into the vent.

There was a thud as Zarina did one last kick to get herself in the vent fully.

"Ow! You just kicked my head."

"Sorry! I'll take a look at it later." Zarina called back, and then turned forwards.

The vent was just big enough to squeeze her in. She could move fine as long as it didn't get any bigger. It was uncomfortable and she couldn't put her arms at her side at the risk of getting stuck.

She crawled, using her elbows and wrists to move forwards, like she had seen some clone troopers do while training on Courscant while she had been there. She wasn't quite sure she was trooper material, but her form put a little smile on her face.

She wrinkled her nose as the smell hit her. It was like a musty, damp sheet. It took all her power not to sneeze as she crawled a little faster. She tried to turn her head to look behind her, but she couldn't see how far she was crawled.

It was probably less than two minutes before Zarina found an exit, but it felt like more. Carefully, she bent down and looked through the vents. She didn't see anyone, so she crawled just past it, and then brought her right foot down, breaking open the small cover. She crawled backwards and left her legs and torso hang out of the duct, then finally her head. She dropped down roughly onto the floor.

She was in.

* * *

><p>Aldo interrupted. "So, then what happened?'<p>

Zarina looked a little miffed she had been interrupted.

"I was about to get to that. "

Stark rolled his hand in a "go on" type of way. "You were saying?" Zarina cleared her throat. "Right. Anyways, I dropped down from the ceiling…."

* * *

><p>Zarina fell onto the floor roughly, trying to land on her feet but falling to her knees. She stood up and looked around carefully, then trotted a few yards to the door. Shane and Solaris where waiting outside, Shane holding her bag and blade.<p>

"Great job, Zarina!" Shane gave her a thumb up. Though she had originally been pissed, Zarina couldn't contain her excitement either.

"Right!?"

Solaris couldn't help himself as a tiny smile crossed his face. "Okay, now let's go find the hostages."

Shane frowned as he handed Zarina her bag and blade.

"I'd guess that way-," he pointed to the right. Zarina was rummaging around her bag, trying to find something. "What makes you say that?

"There's a sign right there." Zarina looked up from her bag and looked to where he was nodding to. There on the wall in some kind of rough paint job it read

"_Prisoners Block C"_

"Huh," muttered Zarina. "What do you know?"

Shane laughed. "Yeah, okay. Solaris and I will go check around for guards. Zarina, why don't you head towards the block through the vents? There's got to be some in the cell right?"

"Unless the door is ray shielded as well." Solaris pointed out to Shane, who shrugged. "Oh, well. Let's go, Solaris."

The three of them walked the distance to where the vent was opened. Zarina glanced up at it. It was nearly ten feet out of reach. Solaris looked at blonde haired Shane.

"You're the 6 foot two one." Shane sighed and got down low on the floor.

"Stand on my shoulders, Zarina."

"Are you sure?" Zarina said hesitantly.

"Yes." Shane encouraged her. Zarina shrugged. "If you say so." She dropped her bag and blade again and hefted herself up onto Shane's shoulders. Shane was wobbly as she positioned herself to be steady. Solaris was holding up Shane, helping keep the support.

"Okay." Zarina whispered.

"Alright. Three, Two-,"

"Wait, on one or after one?" Solaris asked.

"After!" Shane exclaimed. "Three…Two…One…Lift!"

Both boys used their legs and backs to extend Zarina into the air. She pulled herself up into the vent, kicking her legs, and yet again Shane's head, in the process.

"Ow!" Shane hissed. "Sorry!" Zarina called from the vent.

"Toss me my bag!"

Solaris looked around on the floor and then bent over, picking up the black sack. He made sure it was closed shut before throwing it up with precise aim through the vent. Zarina must have caught it and threw in front of her, because it landed with a thud.

"Keep my blade. It won't fit up here." Zarina said, poking her head out a little. Solaris nodded. "Got it."

Shane groaned and leant back, keeping his hands on his lower back. He cracked his spine with an audible crunching noise then sighed. "Whew. Okay, good luck Zar."

Zarina nodded again, then lifted up the vent cover and disappeared into the vents.

Shane turned to Solaris. "Let's see what we can do, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"So what did you do, Zarina?"<p>

Zarina taped her long fingers on her thigh. "Oh, I got lost after that"

"Seriously?" Stark asked her as his eyebrows rose, a trick he had no doubt picked up from Kellen.

"I wandered around for a bit until I found the room. It was easy enough after that."

"That was incredibly dangerous, wandering around like that, Zarina." Kellen warned Zarina, who pouted a little. "I didn't know what else to do."

Finally, Solaris spoke up. "I think it's time I finished this part of the story."

Zarina nodded at Solaris. "Go ahead."

"_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP."_

Zarina jumped like a surprised Loth-cat. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh? What do you mean, 'uh-oh?" Shane said, tensing.

"Uh, don't freak out!" Zarina said, mostly telling Longshot who looked like he would shoot somebody any second. "I'm going back to the infirmary. Maree, come with me?" she asked the blonde, who looked up, startled, then she relaxed and nodded.

"Awesome. Just keep us on track, and, uh…" Zarina was backing out of the room slowly. "Don't panic." She turned around and dashed out the door, Maree trailing behind her.

The door remained open after they left, so Aldo would be able to listen in and talk.

Stark frowned deeply and crossed his arms, leaning on the wall. "How far away are we from Courscant?" he asked Kellen, who looked at the little device on the dashboard.

"A while yet." Kellen said. Stark sighed, defeated.

"Why don't you go ahead, Solaris?" he asked the pale kid with the white hair.

"Alright. It all got strange when we found the tiger…"

* * *

><p><strong>If someone wants to do my paper for me, feel free to. Please. I have no idea when I'll be able to update again, most likely when I'm done with the stinking thing.<strong>

**Okay, finally we can get this done right!**

**Review Replies:**

**LifesAstory78: Why thank you. *winks***

**ShinBP: Ditto. She's a guest character my friend created, so I felt she needed a place in here. She'll be gone by the end of this arc. Also, *puts on sunglasses and grins like a fool with you * Shane.**

**Elinor Nightshade: Again, Maree is just a guest character. She is pretty Mary Sue, huh? Zar/Shane? Maybe a pairing? *wiggles eyebrows* Ha-ha just kidding Zarina is wayyy older then Shane. It'd make things awkward. I really like Tens, he's going to be *cough* super important later…**

**Nefertam: That was probably what happened with Shane and Solaris! Also, Maree won't be showing up for a while, and yes, Shane is very much reckless. You also right about Tens being important! You're actually quite on about this arc… is it that obvious? *gloom***

**PuellarumAmica: You're so sweet! Stark and Shane are definably two of my favorite characters in this arc. Just wait until the rest of the crew shows up… **

**MysteryAgain: Thank you! Any tips for me?**

**KingOfStories01: You're right on all accounts. Stark is a prick. Thanks for your support! ^W^**

**Okay, I'm still excepting, so just PM if you're interested! Form on my profile, along with rules!**

**Does anyone here watch Star Wars Rebels? It's actually super good! I was totally shocked. High hopes that Ahsoka is Fulcrum! *fingers crossed* Kanan (whose name is very similar is Kellen?) I bet, used to be Sith or a dark knight! Pm if you want to theory craft together! If you haven't seen it, it starts with a movie like Clones Wars, called Spark of Rebellion. I love the show! I binged on all the episodes while I was working on my paper (which was not productive)**

**Questions for this chapter!**

_**How do you think Tens is?**_

_**What are your thoughts on Shane and Zarina now? Solaris?**_

_**Do they make a good team? (Solaris, Shane and Zarina I mean)**_

**Okay guys, I'll see you in the next update!**

**Peace and Mist,**

**Rlb190**


	5. Escape (Part 3)

**Hey guys! Super sorry it took me so long to update. My huge paper worth 70% of my grade is due on the 2****nd**** (I think) not to mention I need to annotate my novel (which I forgot to do) and study my flash cards for a Spanish competition (**_**Sí, hablo español…Asi-asi.)**_

**So I figured I might as well give you a quick update before I drown in classwork. Hopefully I'll update once I take my exams and I'll do a nice, long, chapter. **

"Alright. It all got strange when we found the tiger…"

* * *

><p>Shane glanced around the hallway, one hand lingering on his gun. There was very loud cheering, rumbling through the walls.<p>

"Kill! Kill!" Shane snorted, pushing a bit of his blonde hair out of his face. "Guess Maree and Aldo fund a distraction. Hope they don't die. That'd be a shame. Maree is quite pretty." He commented.

"And out of your league." Solaris said.

"Hey!" Shane protested. Solaris shrugged. They continued their walk towards where the prisoners were kept.

"Hey, Solaris?" Shane asked as the duo approached a locked door. Solaris stood guard as Shane bent down towards the keypad that was installed and with a might pull of his hand released the pad from the wall. He then began to pull at some of the wires.

"Mm?" Solaris muttered, moving in front of the door.

"What was someone like you doing in the armpit Tatooine?"

"I could ask you the same, Shane. Tatooine is also not the armpit of the galaxy, Gorse is."

"Oh, well I live there. Well, used to anyways. Now what about you?" Shane insisted.

"I was there briefly after I killed a Republic dignitary on Rhodia."

"You what!?"

"I killed a Republic dignitary on Rhodia." Solaris confirmed.

"Why the hell would you do that!?" Shane exclaimed, almost dropping the pad to the floor.

"Keep working." Solaris ordered. Shane nodded as he looked back down at the pad.

"I'm a contract killer and thief. I used to work for a man named Sa'hi."

Shane felt a disturbance in the air, a strange tingling he felt in the pit of his stomach. He was standing in the same room as a killer, but he had just recklessly joined a crew. Even little Maree could be a killer.

"How old are you man, like 17? I'm four years older than you and you're a contract killer." Shane muttered under his breath.

Before Solaris could reply, the light on the door turned green and unlatched, sliding opening.

"Let's go." Solaris said, moving in.

The duo entered the darkened room. Shane threw a hand on the smooth stone walls, trying to find a light source, when he heard a growling.

"Did you-?" Shane asked in hushed whisper.

"Yes." Solaris uttered, equally quiet. Shane finally found the light switch.

"3…2…1!"

Shane switched the light on, and large orange tiger roared and headed towards the closet thing.

Solaris.

It jumped on top of Solaris, biting down on his arm, hard. Solaris yelped as Shane heard and audible crunch and winced. The tiger, then actually didn't move. It just sat there, staring into Solaris's eyes.

"D-did. That just?" Shane asked, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

"Shane!" Solaris said through grit teeth. "The hostages!"

"Right!"

Shane ran up to the cell just as someone kicked in the vent.

"Zarina?!"

In reply, a bag fell on top of Shane. "Ow, frick!"

"Coming down!" Zarina called, sticking her legs outside the vent.

Shane moved out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit by Zarina. She landed with cat-like grace on the floor.

"Is that a tiger?!" Zarina exclaimed. Shane couldn't focus on Solaris and Zarina and the freaking tiger and the hostages at the same time.

"Get the tiger off of him!" He ordered Zarina, who rushed over to Solaris.

Shane finally noticed a problem.

"Plasma!"

He swore and then lifted up his wrist. He frowned into the small device Stark had given him, and fiddled with it until it beeped. He took it as a sign to start talking.

"_Stark_!"

"**What's wrong**?" came Stark, almost at once.

"_Um, how do I put this? We have a problem_."

"**What happened**?"

Suddenly, Zarina dropped down her metal box filled with first-aid supplies on the floor, trying to scare the tiger, who just growled.

"**What was that?!"**

"_Nothing! Nothing!" _Shane paused and then went on.

"_Um, it's just that they were having a cage fight and Maree and Aldo were distracting them well and we snuck in and there' s no guards, but the cage with the hostages is surrounded by plasma bars. Also a tiger has bitten Solaris and won't let go_."

"**What!?"**

"_Uh, Zarina is trying to get the tiger to let go of his arm. It's really funny because he's really docile so he's just play-biting but he won't let go! It's really funny; I wish I had a camera to-,"_

"**Focus."**

"_Right. Okay, so we're working on that, but how do we get past the cage? It's all plasma. We can't get to them unless we blow up the wall next to it. One of the hostages doesn't look good- Oi! Are you okay in there?"_

Shane yelled this through the bars at the hostages, one of them, a clone shouted back. "My buddy here is really hurt!"

"**Yeah, so he's not okay. And we don't have much time. Aldo and Maree are running out of time. Can you do some hack-y stuff to get us in without setting off any alarms?"**

"**I'll see what I can do. Kellen has the ship ready for you guys, so get the hostages as soon as possible. Uh, don't bring that tiger."**

"_Okay. Solaris- wait!" _Shane called out to Solaris, who put his gun to the tiger's head. Zarina flew back, hands up. "_Don't kill the- awh. He killed the tiger."_

"**Did it let go?"**

Shane wanted to laugh. "_Well, yeah. He's dead."_

"**Hold on. I'll try to get you guys in."**

"_Kay!"_

Shane watched as Solaris threw the tiger off his arm, gripping it tightly. Suddenly, the device on his wrist beeped again.

"**Where are you guys?"**

Shane looked around until he saw the labeling on the wall. _"Uh, Block C? Cell A"_

"**Okay."**

Zarina helped Solaris up and ushered him over to the entrance of the cell. "Come on, Stark!" Suddenly, the red plasma disappeared, Both Zarina and Solaris rushed into the cell, leaning over the hostages. Shane lifted up his wrist and pressed the talk button.

"_Whatever you just did worked! We'll be there in five."_

"**You don't have much time. We need to get Maree and Aldo out of there too."**

"_We're already out the door."_

"**See you soon."**

Shane ran to the others and looked at Zarina, as if awaiting orders. Zarina delivered, handing Shane a clone in army gear, and he looked like he had been injured very badly.

Zarina turned towards the two other hostages, a clone and a ranking officer of some sort with a hurt leg. "Can you walk?" Zarina asked the clone.

"Yes." The clone said. "Help him!" she ordered as Solaris wavered a little, probably from blood loss. She grabbed Solaris and half-ran with him and half-dragged him outside. The entire group of people made it out in not even half the time they had taken getting it.

Shane was straining from the weight, but he was high on adrenaline as they boarded the ship.

* * *

><p>"And you know what happened after that." Shane offered helpfully. Stark nodded. "So that's what happened."<p>

Shane smiled and shrugged. "Ah, I'm just glad everything turned out okay."

Stark rubbed his face for a moment. "I suppose everything is alright…." He trailed off as he looked at Shane.

"Shane. Your nose is bleeding."

"What?" That's when the adrenaline wore off completely. As it faded, Shane realized his head _really _hurt. He put up his hand to his nose, noticing the flow of red from his face.

"Shane, are you alright?" Stark asked, getting closer to Shane. "Fine, fine." Shane waved his hand as he bent his head upwards, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, lean forwards." Stark was close enough to Shane to pinch the bridge of his nose for him as Shane wiped the blood off his hands onto his pants. Stark produced a cloth from his pocket and handed it to Shane, trading his hand for Shane's.

Solaris also seemed concern, as did the other guy in the ship's cabin. What was his name again? Why couldn't he remember that guy's name? What was his own name? S-something?

"Shane?" Stark's voice came through the cloud of haze that had settled over Shane.

"I guess I got hit in the head a lot today." Shane muttered quietly. He felt himself leaning forwards a little, his ears ringing.

Shane couldn't focus on anything, his eye sight was going dizzy and the whole room was going dizzy. He felt almost sick; the room was spinning and spinning.

"Smmhe?" The room got quieter now, the voices muffled. He couldn't make out any loud noise. He finally felt himself leaning more forwards, into Stark and Solaris. How did Solaris get there?

It was a blur as shapes moved in front of him. The room was still moving, but almost slowly now. Someone was shining a light into his eye, someone was holding him up, touching him, but it felt like he was being touched through rubber. That's what sound was like too, like someone was speaking through a thick blanket.

His eyelids felt heavy, and his mouth tasted of blood and salt. That was weird, why would his mouth taste like salt?

He didn't know what was going on, but all he knew what that it hurt.

* * *

><p><strong>Annnd cliff hanger! I'm sorry. (Maybe not?) I'll update again once my studies are in order. I've been so exhausted lately; I'm just going to sleep for a long time after this. I'm very sorry to Shane's creator, too. No worries though. He'll be fine. Probably.<strong>

**Still open, by the way! PM for details!**

**Oh, ten points to whoever can tell me where the planet Gorse is located and its moon **

**To my reviewers: **

**Elinor Nightshade: Thanks! I'm happy for your support! **** This story will be a little AU, but mostly follow the canon series. Also, Star Wars Rebels is amazing! Give it a try!**

**Nefertam: Thank you! :D I'm going to try my best!**

**Questions for this chapter:**

**Whst do think of Solaris now after his explanation?**

**What will happen to Shane?**

**WILL SOLARIS EVER GET A POINT OF VIEW?!**

**We'll see! :D**

**Also, if your character hasn't shown up yet, don't worry. They will show up in the next few chapters…**

**That's all! You guys should totally watch Star Wars Rebels by the way. The season finale is March 2. And I can't wait! That's all for now! Much love! :D**

**Peace and Mist,**

**Rlb190**


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